Samuel w



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE;

SAMUEL WV. FRANCIS, OF NENV YORK, N. Y.

MATCH-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent No. '32,187, dated April 30, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL WV. FRANCIS, of New York, in the county and State of `New York, have invented, made, and applied to use certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction and Operation of Match- Boxes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and correct description of the.

same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure l is a cut sectional view of my im proved match-box showing the Contact of the match with the interior surface. Fig. 2, a view of the same, showing the ignition of the match when withdrawn.

Similar letters of reference in the drawings, indicate like parts of the invention.

The nature of the invention made by me, consists in lining the interior surface of a match box A within about half an inch of its bottom with sand-paper or any cheap material capable of aifording a roughened surface B, and placing the matches C C within the box A with their igniting ends downward, so that while the matches remain in the box the composition ends will not be in Contact with any frictional surface, while as they are withdrawn, their igniting ends are brought in contact/with the roughened surface (as shown in Fig. l) on the interior pif the box A and thereby ignited as shown in ig. 2.

To enable others skilledY in the art to make and use my invention I will speak of its construction and operation. Y

A shows a matchbox, made of wood, paper or any suitable material, in which the matches C, C are placed.

The interior of this box A, is lined about one half of an inch above its bottom with sand paper or any cheap material capable of affording a roughened surface, against which the matches as they are drawn from the box are brought in contact and ignited. The matches C C when placed in the box A are placed with their igniting ends downward. y

The advantages afforded by using my invention are numerous, among which may be cited the extreme low cost of manufacture, as a box might be made from sand paper, in which case the smooth surface would form the exterior surface and the coated or `sanded surface, the interior of thev box; matches when placed in a box constructed as I have set forth can be both more surely and more rapidly ignited, thus rendering my invention particularly desirable, while economy can be consulted by using an article,

' which not only forms a box or receptacle for the matches but affords the consumer all the advantages of the ordinary match safe.

The smooth surface A near the bottom, removes all liability of the accidental ignition of the matches by the agitation of the box. v

Having thus described my invention, as well as some of its advantages, what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- Lining a matchbox A on its interior with sand-paper or an equivalent, so that as the matches C C are drawn from the same they shall be readily ignited, substantially as described. 4

i SAML. W. FRANCIS. In presence of A. SIDNEY DoANE, GEO. W. HUNT. 

